Landlords, would you consider this if your tenants asked?

[DesperateTenant]

I have rented my current home for 13 years. I am a good tenant, I keep the house in excellent shape and care for it as if it was my own. I have never asked for anything, rent is always paid on time.

Landlord has decided to sell and I only discovered this when someone knocked on my door wanting a sneaky viewing. They showed me the listing on Rightmove, complete with pictures I was completely unaware were taken.

I am shocked and desperate not to move. I came from nothing and I've made a life for me and my children here. We have a real community around us. I'm at the point where I'll be able to buy locally within 6 months and staying in the area is so important to me.

I completely understand that legally I am not entitled to be told when the LL is selling and have no rights to ask for anything from the LL and I don't know their personal situation.

But, for the landlords out there, in these circumstances if your long term tenant asked if you would consider waiting 6 months and offered to pay more rent (currently pay £850, would offer £1150) would you?

Would it be completely unreasonable for me to ask this?

In 6 months I'd have enough to buy the house I'm in and would do so in a heartbeat.

You have nothing to lose by asking, but it just depends on his financial situation and what needs to happen from his perspective.

It's strange that he doesn't didn't ask you first if you wanted to buy it. Definitely do not offer to increase rent but you definitely should make him an offer to buy in six months and get the ball rolling with your mortgage. He'd be mad not to take you up on it. It would make his life so much easier

LL here… l am shocked your LL did not have the courtesy to call/ email you to let you know of their plans well in advance. Extremely unprofessional not to mention rude.
l would advise letting the LL know you wish to buy the property but need six months saving time.. if l was your LL ( and l have been in similar situations) l would be delighted.

I would definitely change the locks if I was you.

After that length renting you are entitled to at least 6 months if not more notice so definitely offer to buy.

OP you really need to speak to your landlord, but get your facts and figures together first. Have you approached any mortgage brokers? If you can make it look like a real option your landlord might be willing to wait.

However, the fact they obtained entry to the property to take photos without your knowledge or consent (not legal) and the fact they have put it on the market without telling you and warning you about potential viewings makes me think they might not be a nice, reasonable landlord.

I feel for you, it’s a horrible and unsettling position to be in.

Well, you need a strongly worded email to the estate agent about how photos were obtained at least.
Definitely ask the landlord if you can purchase. Don't offer a rent increase.

Have you checked your AST? What notice period are you entitled to? If Wales this will be a minimum of 6 months which will suit your negotiations well.
It is v poor that photos have been taken inside your home, check your AST, if not agreed to, the Lld has broken the contract, though maybe it was the agent, check. Reflect before you respond to this, put together your positive case and timeline to be a possible purchaser, if that is want you can/want to do.

It is much easier for a Lld to sell to a sitting tenant for many reasons. Make sure any agent involved is not sabotaging your offer ( they are untrustworthy IME)
Good luck

I'm not a landlord but 'shy bairns get nowt' which means just ask them! The worst that can happen is they say no.

Nothing helpful to add (sorry) but I’m surprised that you describe him as decent landlord. You have windows that don’t shut which he won’t fix, an unsafe gas fire, a dubious gas safety certificate, he’s clearly not told the estate agents the full story about the house.

Decent is the last word I’d use!

This is a shocking story.
Your landlord is the one being unreasonable.

Please DO NOT OFFER TO PAY HIM MORE £ THAN YOU ALREADY DO!

There's already been lots of good advice in this thread, and I'm glad you've been able to do some more research. If I were in your shoes, I would:

(a) get a friend (or use an anonymous email address, not connected to yours) to get hold of the home report/ whatever detailed description the estate agents are sending out to potential buyers - often more detailed than the Rightmove ad - so you know exactly what's been said about your legal status, the property and its value.

(b) compare what's been said in the description with the actual state of the property. Is there anything being included in the sale particulars that actually belongs to you, and therefore won't be there if you're moved out? any other inaccuracies or omissions that a potential buyer might want to know about?

(c) make a list of all the outstanding repairs/ maintenance issues, and work out what it would cost (you or another buyer) to fix them all. Ensure you've considered these costs when deciding what to bid.

(d) make a list of all the reasons why your landlord should consider selling it directly to you (less hassle, no commission to the agents etc).

(e) start looking for someone to act as your conveyancing solicitor (you'll need them whenever you do start bidding for property in 6 months/ whenever - so you may as well find someone good now) as they can always be instructed to carry out negotiations with the landlord/agent on your behalf, advise you about various mortgage options etc - their existence should help convince the landlord that you are serious about purchasing and know what you're doing.

(f) change the locks, as soon as possible, to prevent the landlord/ estate agents/ anybody else letting themselves into your home ever again without your knowledge and permission.
What they've done is a huge security risk for you/ your family/ possessions/ pets, as well as a breach of your privacy and rights as a tenant. Your landlord is supposed to give you advance notice of any visit to the property, and is definitely not supposed to hand over the keys to random photographers!
Does he know that you tend to work on Sats? And therefore deliberately came then? Do you usually deal with him directly, or with lettings agents? In which case, are these the same as the estate agents now handling the sale?
If I were you, I'd insist on being present for any viewings that I chose to allow (and you can choose not to allow any), as you obviously cannot trust these people, based on their behaviour up till now.

Then decide how you want to play it with the devious fucker (aka your LL).

If the house has the problems that you describe, and you also think the asking price is quite high, you could try sticking in a bit of a low offer and see what happens. If he accepts lower, it will take less time to get your deposit together. But to put in a credible offer you should get a mortgage in principle to demonstrate to the LL that you are a viable buyer.
Your LL has shot himself in the foot by not asking you first as he would have avoided EA fees. Now they he has instructed an EA, he will still have to pay their fees even if he agrees a sale with you directly. He doesn't sound like a good LL at all.

This is not true.

There is nothing wrong with changing the locks. There is plenty of case law that makes it clear that it is not considered criminal damage. Landlords are free to advertise their property for sale whenever they like, but no, they are not supposed to let themselves in without informing the tenant first, take photos and publish them online!

And if they haven't carried out the basic legal responsibilities involved in being a landlord (ensuring gas appliances are checked annually, that tenants' deposits are properly protected in a scheme, etc) then they may end up discovering that the process of getting rid of the tenant isn't as quick and cheap as they would like it to be, especially if they're aiming for a quick sale....

Don't know if this is of any help but homes aren't selling so easily in the current financial climate, it may well take up to 6 months for the LL to sell the property. My old LL put the flat up for sale in June of last year and it still hasn't sold yet. Might be worth trying to negotiate something with your LL and see if he might hold off for 6 months, explain to him you already have the bulk of the deposit (show bank statements for peace of mind) and that you would love to buy the house. Or maybe even see if he would knick the price down for a quick sale.

100% I would. Would rather sell to my tenants than anyone else and it would eliminate agent fees too as it could be a private sale.

How much can you raise now?

would speaking to a solicitor, and getting them to write to your landlord outlining the offer, reminding the landlord that the tenancy hasn’t come to an end, how is your possessions plastered all over the internet, Express your concern as to who has been in your safe space

it will take him six months to get u out, and you are not lying that you have been there x amount of years, and if prospective buyers assume there is thousands required in repairs

there is more than one way to skin a cat, and save your money to get the deposit not pay extra rent

You can’t do any harm by asking. If I was the LL I would accept.

Financial issues are complicated and unique to every LL. AND I would say there is no harm in asking. But to be honest: To Sell a property with ' Sitting Tenants' is near on IMPOSSIBLE so you've got MONTHS SND MONTHS anyway.
AND in reality you could even be A TENANT FROM HELL in the process of kicking this complicated can down the road. LL should be kicking your BOOTS now to facilitate a tricky sale with You in it.

It's definitely worth asking the landlord, OP. Many years ago, my landlord put the entire building (3 flats) on the market and dropped round to tell the tenants in person and give us 3 months notice. When I said I wished I could afford to buy it, he said well obviously he wouldn't expect me to pay anywhere near the full asking price. Sadly I had zero savings at the time, or I'd probably still be there. 😢

Definitely let the landlord know that you are interested. Definitely DON'T offer increased rent!

If you could realistically consider buying in about six months, that's great.

I looked at a tenanted property as a buyer last year. The vendor was selling it either tenanted or untenanted. They'd given a date about ten months away for vacant sale. It put me off as I was looking for a place to live, and didn't want to be the cause of someone else having to leave the property that they were renting. So it's not an easy market for selling a property that's currently tenanted. And as you say, you know the place's foibles (e.g. repairs needed) and still want to buy it, whereas new buyers might pull out when they find out things like that.

If I was in the owner's position, I'd be delighted to get an offer from you.

Definitely ask, in so many ways it's a path of least resistance for him. But unless you're in a position to make an offer now, he will naturally want to still move to market it so that he can make sure he has multiple options on the table. What isn't cool is lack of warning about people coming to take photos. That's not allowed without notice.

He has shat all over your rights to privacy assuming he has been in and had photographs taken without your permission. Completely out of order.

LL here - and about to write to all my tenants to see if they are interested in buying as I know I want to sell a couple this year

They have acted very badly with regard to letting themselves in, not telling you, not repairing things, expecting viewings!

If you were my tenant and offered to buy in 6 months I would be delighted!

Hope you get a positive reply

So the landlord has allowed entry to the property to get it valued without your agreement/permission?

Absolutely do NOT offer to pay more rent.

Email the landlord/letting agent and tell them that it’s come to your attention that the property had been put for sale as you’ve had people at your door wanting to view the property. You are very confused and shocked at this as you did not not give permission for entry to value and take interior photos of the property. The photos contain your personal possessions, this is an invasion of privacy and you want them removed immediately. You will not be giving permission for viewings to take place as you have a right to quiet enjoyment of the property. If the landlord wishes to offer you the opportunity to purchase the property, you may be willing to negotiate a price.

If LL refuses to negotiate, await Section 21. State you will not be leaving without a court order which will take at least 6 months but are still open to negotiation on purchasing the property as the landlord will not be able to market the property until you’ve left which will take a further 3-6 months.

If that fails you’ll have to look for an alternate property and at least you’ll have time to get deposit together.

You won’t need a LL reference if you’re buying so I’d have no issue with dragging it out and causing the LL a problem as they’re obviously the type to treat decent, long standing tenants like absolute shit!

I was a landlord and I wouldn’t think of not telling my tenant that I was considering selling. I did sell the house I rented, and I met the tenant in person and discussed this and came to an arrangement.

I would contact the LL straight away and invite them to enter into some kind of discussion, if possible face to face and it’s easier to be more cooperative that way. You don’t have to let viewings in so really the LL is better off working with you. Plus houses take 6 months plus to sell.